Goodbye and Thank You, I'll See You Again
by thekeybladeschosen
Summary: Aqua's life was perfect, until her husband died unexpectedly. Vanitas was doing just fine, until the news of his estranged brother's death reaches him. Title from the song "Curtain Call" written by Rosi Golan. Rated M for death/other things.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Aqua's POV  
**

My life has become like a goddamn Nicholas Sparks novel.

That's all I can process as I prepare for the funeral of my husband. That horrible thought persists through the grief that racks my entire soul every day.  
My husband is gone, and I'm alone. For the first time in years, I'm just Aqua. Not Ven&Aqua, no longer Aqua and Ven. Not even truly do I feel like Mrs. Ventus Cardin anymore, due to the fact I'm a widow now, because my husband is gone.

My life has become some giant, sad story cliche. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

I'd had it all, once. I'd grown up relatively well off, my family doted on me, and I'd been lucky enough to have met my soulmate in high school.

Ventus had caught my eye from the beginning of our freshman year. I'd never seen him before that day, he must have gone to another middle school.  
Honestly, I was immediately entranced.  
He was blond, so bright and beautifully blond it almost hurt to look at. His eyes were a deep, gorgeous blue, and his smile was dazzling.  
I remember we'd shared a few classes, and as bold as I usually was, I hadn't dared speak to him.

I wouldn't fit in with his crowd, I'd reasoned. My strawberry blonde hair was dyed blue, I hung out with the strange, "alternative" kids, and he hung out with the jocks. He was athletic, and brilliant, and girls and boys alike were in love with him all over the school, hell, maybe the entire town.  
Ventus seemed to be out of my league, maybe even in another galaxy. We hung out with different crowds, but I couldn't help but adore him from afar anyway.  
In my fourteen year old mind, it probably seemed like we were star crossed lovers, destined to one day overcome our social boundaries.

As a teenager, the need to overcome such a dilemma was never one I put much thought into. I assumed that eventually, destiny would intervene and he'd notice me noticing him and the rest would be history. I'd never had to actually, like, do anything.  
With that in mind, I spent our first year of high school lovesick and angry that no one knew I was lovesick, as I felt was my God given right.  
I whined about unrequited love and never ending agony to the only person I trusted with such information, my mother, who'd only ever seemed amused by what I imagined as the greatest plight of all time.

But one day, Ventus's best friend Terra did my dirty work for me, loudly proclaiming, "That girl is so fucking in love with you" in front of what had felt like the entire school our sophomore year. We'd been standing across the hallways from each other, and I couldn't resist glancing over at Ventus every few seconds, thinking no one had seen me.  
Unfortunately, Terra had.  
People had laughed, and I had blushed crimson and ran off, embarrassed. Now convinced I'd have to move far, far away and forget Ventus even existed, I felt my fifteen year old heart crumble as I imagined my life actually falling to pieces around me.  
But, the world did not work that way, it had appeared.

Ventus had followed me, locating me outside. I'd curled into a mess of limbs against a wall, feeling cleverly concealed by the large plant growing off of it, but apparently not concealed enough. His footsteps came closer, and I wished for a giant hole to open up and swallow me into the ground right then and there.  
None of which happened.  
"Hey," He'd said, smiling slightly. His voice sent nervous flutters through my stomach.  
I'd immediately glanced back down, too scared to look him in the eye.  
"Sorry about Terra back there." Ventus was saying, and I cringed.  
He noticed, and his tone got even softer, somehow, as I praised the angels above for not letting him be a total dick, for letting him be a nice boy.  
"Hey, it's okay. For the record, I think you're pretty cute. Aqua, right? Is that your real name, or a nickname because of your hair?"  
I gulped and nodded, glancing up. "Y-yeah, I'm Aqua. Real name, but the hair is a nice touch, right? Nice to like...officially meet you, Ventus."  
The boy chuckled. "Call me Ven." He'd held out his hand, and lifted me back to my feet, still smiling at me.  
My heart had hammered in my throat, and I was positive I'd still been bright red, but he'd handed me his phone number and walked off, still smiling.

We'd gone on a few awkward dates before I stopped acting like an idiot around him, and before long he was my boyfriend.  
Ven had been the love of my life, the only person I'd ever loved.  
We were inseparable. We were each other's first and only loves. Our parents on both sides adored us together, and everyone who knew us would call us the lucky ones.

He asked me to marry him the summer after high school, and we wasted no time in making it happen.

Then, at the young age of twenty one, right as we'd been preparing to take a trip around the world together...we learned I was pregnant.

Our dreams changed, but neither of us minded all that much. We set up house in an adorable little neighborhood.  
Ven got a job to support us through a slightly difficult pregnancy, and while we were happy, it was a hard year of our lives.  
It had all been worth it when our daughter had been born the next spring, a tiny redheaded little girl we named Kairi.  
Ven was a wonderful father who adored Kairi. We had the perfect, happiest little family a person could ever hope for.

Our bliss was short lived, though, as Ven had died in a car accident just a week ago.  
It was a beautiful spring day, a gorgeous setting for our life.  
We were having a party for Kairi's third birthday. Morning came, and I'd woken him up with an enthused, "Party day!" and set him a list of errands to run.  
I remember how he kissed me goodbye, and ruffled the soft, fine red hair on our daughter's head.  
Then, running back inside, he'd laughed a perfect laugh and said, "Almost forgot the keys!"  
"Those are important," I'd chuckled.  
He'd come back for "another goodbye kiss", and then turned at the front door, calling out to me and Kairi, "Be back soon, my darlings!"  
He'd been out to get the cake, and was on his way home when a car had swerved into his lane, causing the crash.

The scene where I was informed of my husband's death is on a constant loop in my mind.  
It had been a long while, much longer than it should have taken for Ven to return home.  
I remember making every kind of excuse I could, even joking with Terra about how I couldn't get through on his phone because my lazy butt of a husband never charged the damn thing, and Terra laughing hollowly as we finished setting up for the party, and then came a knock at the door.

I could feel it immediately, before even opening the door. I'd felt it all afternoon, the strange sense that something was out of order in the world.

Something was horrifically, terribly wrong.  
Ven wouldn't have been knocking at the door.

When I'd opened it, I'd seen the uniforms, and I just knew I'd hear something terrible.  
Two police officers stood there, and the one in front had a face that was full of pity.

"Are you Mrs. Cardin?" He'd asked kindly.  
I'd nodded, feeling the blood drain from my face.  
"May we come in?"  
I'd nodded once again, instructing Terra to take Kairi into another room, please.  
They'd told me everything, apologizing profusely as they went, and I started screaming, but no noise came out.

And then I'd collapsed.

He was only twenty five years old. We were too young, we didn't get enough time.  
Those were the words I kept hearing, as though they were supposed to help.  
Nothing helped.

Kairi was currently staying with my parents while I sorted out what needed to be done.  
Saying a prayer, I thanked every power there was, so grateful she was too young to understand, too young to know what had happened. Too young to grieve the way I grieved.  
But my heart ached as I thought of her growing up without knowing how wonderful her father had truly been.  
I stare at the living room from the arch of the kitchen without really seeing.  
Why did this happen to us? What had we done to deserve such a cruel fate?

As I shook with renewed sobs, I dropped what I was holding, a glass of water, and fell to my knees in the now cold, wet carpet.  
I wept into my hands, horrible racking sobs.  
"Aqua!" A man's voice shouted, and I felt myself be lifted up from the floor where I'd collapsed, and onto the couch.  
The face swimming before me came into focus. Terra was peering down at me, concern and sorrow etched into the lines of his face.  
"Aqua, shhh. I'm here."  
As I sobbed, I thought how strange it was that Terra was the one here with me, helping me through this.  
He'd been the one to embarrass me in front of Ven, though I knew in the long run it had been a good thing.  
Terra and Ven had been best friends for most of their lives, and I think we both felt some tension when I stepped into the picture and became a permanent fixture.  
But despite our initial weirdness, I liked Terra well enough, and Ven and I had made him Kairi's godfather when she was born.  
It felt like years ago. It felt like yesterday. Time made no sense anymore.  
A world without Ven made no sense.  
"I just...can't...believe...he's gone..." I managed through heaving sobs, gasping for breath with each word.  
Terra's face contorted. "Me either, Aqua.  
Me either."  
We wept together, Terra and I, alone in a world we didn't know how to live in without Ven.

 **xXxXx**

Sunlight streams through my blinds as I wake up the next day in my room. Turning to the left, where Ven usually is, my breath hitches in my throat.  
How many more days will I awaken and look for someone who's never going to be there again?

I didn't remember falling asleep, or Terra carrying me in here, but eventually the exhaustion must have kicked in.  
We wept for what felt like hours on the couch last night.

I shakily get to my feet and head for my bathroom, but when I step in all I can smell is the deodorant Ven always wore.  
The cap is off, and must have been since the day of the party. I'd spent so little time in here since then I hadn't even noticed.  
Smelling it makes me dizzy, and I want to scream.  
Instead, I turn and fall, throwing up the tiny amount of food I'd managed to keep down less the day before.

I lay on the floor of my bathroom for a while, weeping.  
This shouldn't be happening.

 **xXxXx**

Eventually, I pull myself off the floor and leave the bathroom, going back to collapse onto my bed.

Somewhere in the room, my phone rings, but I can't be bothered to find it.  
Truthfully, I can't be bothered to do anything.  
Still ringing from somewhere, I mutter to the room, "Don't bother. I don't care."

It goes silent some time later, and I lay in bed still, wishing I was as dead as my husband.  
I don't want to bear this world alone.

Not much more time has passed before Terra comes to rouse me again, and I wish he wouldn't.  
Terra is such a good guy, but Ven was what held our friendship together. Ven was the reason the two of us saw eye to eye, and we'd bonded over our mutual respect and adoration for the blond. That was the glue in our friendship, and how would it remain solid when the man who'd been responsible was gone?

I almost wish he'd just go away.  
"Aqua, come on. You can't stay in here all day. Please," The tall brunet is saying, but it's almost washed away by the ringing in my ears.  
Can't he see that I don't care about anything anymore?  
"Aqua Elizabeth Cardin." His tone has shifted into something heavier, and I blink at the use of my full name as some old instinct to reply rears up, something lost from childhood, the reproach of the use of a full name.  
"Y-yes?" I croak, finally looking at him. Terra is frowning at me, but it's not a mean look.  
I can feel the sympathy, and I hate it. I shouldn't need to be pitied. This shouldn't be my life.  
"We're going to see Kairi now, remember? You must remember that. Come on, Aqua. Get up. You're not doing this to yourself. I refuse to let you wither away." Terra is saying, and the only part of it I can register is the name of my daughter. He's right, and I know it somewhere deep down, but the grief drowns it out.

He leaves me then, promising to come back in if I don't leave the room within the timeframe of an hour.  
Staring at the ceiling, I allow myself another round of tears before I leave my bed.

* * *

 **xXxXx**

 **Vanitas's POV**

"Yo, Cardin!"  
I sigh, pretending I don't hear the voice of my coworker. I just want to sit here on this damn wall, where I'm enjoying the only goddamn break I've had yet today, and smoke my fucking cigarette.  
"Earth to Cardin! Vanitas, I know you can fuckin' hear me bro!"  
I roll my eyes and glance over at the door, which Xigbar has refused to fully step out from, and call back, "Yeah boss?"  
"You have a phone call!" The older man says.  
Why is someone calling me at work? We live in the age of iPhones, do we not? Anyone I'd want to speak to could reach me on that.  
"Tell 'em I'm unavailable." I shout back.  
The old man rolls his one eye at me and says, "Already told her you were here. Come pick up the damn phone already."  
With that, he steps back inside, and I groan and put out my cigarette. I hope it's not a customer complaint.  
I work for a place called the Organization, which is pretty much a giant delivery service.  
Anything you could think of having picked up and delivered, we do it. Seriously. Party favors, flowers, food, pets, etc. We do everything.  
As I tally through all of my recent deliveries and I try to figure out what I could have fucked up recently.  
Nothing really comes to mind, but you know how people are. "The customer is always right" and all that shit, or whatever.

Stepping through the doors, I raise my eyebrows at Xigbar, who says, "She didn't give me a name, just asked for you. Said it was important."  
That's odd, but alright. I must have severely fucked up someone's life if they wouldn't even tell Xigbar what exactly went wrong.  
They must want to yell directly at me, then. Rad.  
I pick up the phone, attempting to keep my voice from sounding _too_ exasperated. "Hello, this is Vanitas."

The voice on the other end inhales sharply, and I mentally prepare myself for the worst.

"Hi Vanitas."  
My heart slows for a moment and I feel the color drain from my face. Clenching the receiver tightly in my right hand, so tightly it hurts, I try to remember to breathe.

I haven't heard that voice in years, but I'd know it anywhere.  
"H-hi mom."

 **xXxXx**

My brother is dead. My mom tracked me down after ten years to tell me my little brother, Ven, is dead.

I can't process this.  
The last time I saw Ventus was right before his sophomore year of high school. Kid was the total opposite of me, the golden boy.  
Ven was the goddamn perfect son. Never caused any trouble or stress for my folks. I heard it all the time, how great it was Ven never followed my example, how wonderful he was, how nice it was to have such a respectful child around.  
I'd resented him for it, maybe even hated the runt a little bit. I wanted to be the favorite once when we were young, but I was too rebellious, too angry, too...everything.  
He knew it, too. I think that's the worst part, is that I never hesitated to tell the kid how much I disliked the blatant favoritism, or the fact that he always won.

And now he was gone. I hadn't seen him in ten years, and now he was gone.

"We're having a funeral this weekend. W-we hope you can come. It's been too long, and family should stick together now more than e-ever." My mother had said, openly weeping over the phone.  
If I hadn't been so shell shocked, I may have replied something scathing to her about how she and dad had forced me out, not the other way around.  
They'd been glad to be rid of me, at least until their baby died, and they had to find me. The only kid they still had.

Ventus was dead.

I told Xigbar I had to leave and asked him to have the boss call me before I booked it out of there, hopping onto my bike and heading home.  
As soon as I stumbled through my door and shut it behind me, I fell to my knees, the shock beginning to wear off and the horrible sadness setting in.

Dry sobs racked my body as the impact hit me. I wanted to scream, or break something, or even openly weep, but my eyes were dry as I curled up on my floor, shaking.

I hadn't seen my brother in ten goddamn years, and that last time I'd been cruel to the kid, and now I'd never see him again.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Ven. I'm so goddamn sorry." I whisper, and then the tears fall.

Of course I'll go to his funeral. It may be too little too late, but I'll step in and be a good son for my folks now, at least for a little while.  
I can do that for them. I can try to make up for how awful I was. I can remind them that even though they've lost one, they still have another son. I can take care of them while they grieve, and then once my amends are made, I can leave.

But I can't do anything on this floor. I stand up, still shaky.  
Walking through my house in a daze, I pack a bag automatically. I calm myself with a few deep breaths and thank God my roommate isn't home to see me so unnerved.  
Rummaging through a desk for a pen and paper, I write her a note and stick in into an envelope, placing it carefully on the desk where she'll be sure to see it.  
Looking around, I give myself one last pep talk before leaving the place behind.

 _Larx,_

 _going home to Radiant Garden for a bit. Some family shit came up.  
Dunno exactly how long I'll be, but in advance here's next month's rent.  
Text or call if ya need anything._  
 _Don't cause too much trouble without me._  
 _-Vanitas_

* * *

 **A/N:**

This is something a little newer for me. I've never written anything with the BBS kids before! I rarely use those characters.  
But with a return to FF with a brand new, clean palette this month after years away I thought, ayyy, may as well start something new.

Firstly, I am so sorry to anyone who adores Ventus, because I feel you bro. I love that kid, but hey, this is supposed to hurt the heart, and his existence is already so riddled with pain he was my first choice to kill off when I thought of this.

Secondly, an apology now to any Terqua shippers, because while I adore it, I can't make myself write it, so it'll never happen. Just throwing that out there as a sidenote.  
I love the idea of it, just not from me.

Thirdly, I needed to write out something involving death and grief, because I've been dealing with it myself for a while now after a beloved person in my life died, and writing out some of those feelings helps.

Okay! All that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy! I've got a decent ish plan for this, we'll see how it goes. Trying to make the chapters in this one longer than I normally write without stretching it out too far, we'll see how I do.

Tata for now!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2  
Aqua's POV**

It's funeral day.  
That's all I've been able to think since rousing myself from a grand total of two hours of sleep.  
It's funeral day, and I'm not ready.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, the empty backseat and my own tired face mirrored back at me, I sigh.  
Dark purple circles have fought valiantly against the concealer I auto piloted applying after my shower, and I accept it was a losing battle.

Taking a deep breath, I sit in the silence of my car for another moment, fighting the urge to just drive away. Leaving isn't an option, but it'd be a nice one.  
Escaping the hell my life has morphed into would be a stroke of luck that I don't deserve.

I adjust my dark skirt silently as I finally get out of my car and head over to the site we chose.

 _We're burying Ven today._

I want to scream. I want to tear my hair out. I want to cry until I can't anymore.

None of these are an option, however.

Looking at my phone without really comprehending the words I type, I attempt to send one final thank you text to my babysitter, who gladly kept Kairi for me today.  
A funeral is no place for a toddler, I decided, despite the fact my father in law made it clear he thought not bringing Kairi was a mistake.  
It'd been a fight I'd refused to back down from. Kairi was _my_ daughter, and her father's funeral was no place for her at such a young age.  
Or any age, really, but I didn't get a choice in this.  
Fate had been cruel enough to my daughter already, even if she was too young to fully understand.  
My poor, sweet angel.

Gathering my wits about me, I finally manage to guide my feet the final few steps to the clearing.

It's a beautiful day out, and that feels wrong. Storms should be rolling in. Clouds should be gathering, thunder and lightning should be ominously playing in the background while it pours rain.  
That's what happens in the movies, right? That's how you know some giant, drastic change has occurred, and that your life will never be the same.  
But this sunshine, the cool breeze to the air...it doesn't feel right.

How dare the world be cheerful and lovely when my life is falling apart, I think, like some sullen teenager.  
My eyes damp, I notice two people are already here.

Thankfully, the couple is only my in laws, who are sitting together quietly near the casket, heads together and bowed, most likely in tears.  
A shudder rips through my body as I take a deep breath.  
I don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here.

The coffin is up on a small alter, and I stare at in horror. The lid is closed, thank the Lord, but he's in there.

Ven shouldn't be in there. I keep waiting for the day that this is all revealed to be some awful, morbid joke.  
Some huge mistake where Ven walks back through the door, cake in hand, and I learn that all this time I was in some horrible nightmare.  
My husband cannot be dead. We'd been together for nine years. No fate could be so cruel as to give us so little time.

All I want is to wake up from this nightmare, roll over in bed, and see Ven's face. I'd hug him so tight, tell him again and again how wonderful he was, spend all my days worshiping the very ground he walked on even, if it meant I'd never lost him.

But life doesn't work like that.

I shake my head to clear these thoughts, smooth back my blue tresses, and cross the grass, to where the older Mr. and Mrs. Cardin sit.

That'll never be us, Ven, I think to myself.  
That should be us and it _never_ will be.

Dread and bile rise up in my throat, but I can't be sick today.

"Claire, Brad..." I mutter, having had a sentence, but losing it in the process.  
Ven's parents turn up to me, and it's almost too much.  
Claire has Ven's hair, so bright and yellow it pains me, and he got his eyes from Brad.

"Aqua, dear. Come sit with us a moment." Claire says softly, patting the seat on her right.  
I sit next to her, and the hand that isn't in a tight grip with her husband's clasps onto mine.  
Anchored together in a vast, terrifying ocean, we grip onto each other for dear life.

 **xXxXx**

People begin to arrive as the time passes. They all come up and give us their condolences, or sit and shake their heads, or even cry with us.

Terra arrived not long after I did and immediately came to sit with us, a hand on my arm.  
Every few minutes I look over at him and thank everything that he's been such a good friend to lean on during this time.

Tears are in his eyes, but he refuses to let them fall. His long eyelashes are wet, and his jaw is clenched tight as he endures this pain we're living.  
But he doesn't back down once and I'm grateful.  
"Thank you", I whisper to him, squeezing his fingers in mine gently for a brief moment.  
He shakes his head sadly, brown hair swaying with the motion. "Don't thank me yet. We've still gotta get through this thing."  
Nodding to this, I smile sadly at him.

The music begins to play as more people arrive, and most of them take their seats quietly.  
Sadness hangs heavy in the air, suffocating me.  
Terra squeezes my arm gently before sitting up straight in his seat. "It's starting." He whispers, whether just for himself or for us both I don't know.

* * *

 **Vanitas's POV**

My eyes follow the crowd as people mill over towards the site where my brother's funeral is being held.  
I try to gather up all the strength I possess to get through this.  
My mother knew I was coming out, but I don't know if she told my father. I haven't felt ready to face them yet, and made excuses such as not arriving in town until the day of.  
Which was a lie, as I've been here since the night she called me, three days ago.

Can I do this? I haven't seen my parents in so long, and I doubt a funeral is the greatest reunion scene.

I can't believe I'm at my brother's funeral.  
Aren't the younger siblings supposed to outlive you and your parents? Isn't there something extremely fucking screwed up about being the older child and knowing you outlived the youngest?  
This is so fucked up.

Taking a few deep breaths, I muster up all of my courage and follow the crowd.

The area is quiet as I slowly make my way over to the throng of people, all dressed in black. I keep a safe distance from them, as close to the back as I can be without actually leaving.

I've never attended a funeral, and hoped to continue not having to do so. Dammit, Ven, why did it have to be you.

I can hear soft music playing from somewhere near the front. It's a terribly haunting song, and it strikes fear and sadness into my heart.  
Then I see the casket, and what can only be Ven's photo on a stand near it. I can't make out the photo very well from the back, and my fingers twitch as I wish I was brave enough to get closer to what's left of my brother before he's gone from me forever.

Freezing, I remind myself why I'm here as my body begins to shake.

I can't panic here. I cannot freak out. There's no time for that today.

Falling into a seat as far back as can be, I allow myself a deep sigh.  
I can see the back of what must be my parent's heads from here, sitting next to someone with what appears to be blue hair.  
I'd be a little bit impressed if every nerve in my body wasn't screaming for me to run, because I should not fucking be here.

 **xXxXx**

White noise pounds in my ear drums during the entire ceremony, and I'm positive my eyes glass over. The entire time, I'm not even fully aware of my surroundings.  
At some point, my parents get up, my mother dissolving into tears immediately, my father's voice weary, but I can't make myself hear the individual words.  
After that, I know a few strangers each say something. A tall brunet man I vaguely feel like I recognize gives a speech. The blue haired person from earlier also gives a speech, her voice soft and tired, but I can't make myself process the words any of these people say.  
It's all just white noise as I try not to scream and lose the tiny shred of sanity I need to get through this.

I snap to attention as it ends and the procession begins to stand up. From the front, my parents stand up once more, my mother weeping on my father, the blue haired figure who'd spoken at some point next to them, holding her other hand.  
A small flicker of annoyance rears it's ugly head somewhere in my heart, and my face contorts into a scowl. Who is this stranger holding my mother's hand? That should be me comforting my parents. Who was this blue haired woman, feeling so at place in _my_ brother's funeral?

Then I remember I'm the one who'd been gone for ten years, and these strangers may have known my own brother better than I did, and my breath becomes ragged as I fight off the panic attack I've kept down since I woke up.

They're ready to lower the casket, handing out roses to toss onto it.  
Hanging back from this, I lower my lids, tears silently dripping off the end of my nose.

I will not freak out here.

I hear the thud of the first bit of dirt and try my hardest not to pass out.  
As everyone begins to walk away, I push myself past the people moving the opposite way and up to my folks, once again joined by the stranger with blue hair.  
I stop in front of them, gulp, and take a breath.

"H-hi mom." I say as she whips her head up to look at me, eyes wide and glossy.  
The blue haired figure next to her, a tall woman, begins to say something before she too looks at me.  
We make eye contact briefly, and then horror fills her face.

* * *

 **Aqua's POV**

The ceremony is presided by a priest, a short man who's grave face and voice feel so wrong to me.  
Ven was too full of light for such a grim man to be the one speaking about him, about heaven, about love and life and laughter.  
Ven should be spoken of with softness.

Oh Ven, you were too good for this fate.

Claire and Brad are first to give a speech, which Claire gets two seconds into before dissolving.  
"Our son Ventus was our pride and joy. He was a generous, handsome, kindhearted man who will be missed by all who knew him. He was hardworking, and funny, and too young to have left us behind. Too young to have left behind so many." Brad begins, and I can hear the pain in his voice as my heart throbs painfully in my throat.  
"He was such a lovely boy and we treasured him beyond anything." Claire whimpers, and the tears spring to my eyes as I glance down, unable to watch my in laws fall apart anymore.  
Terra's hands spasm, I can see his knuckles twitching next to me.

My head is pounding too hard to hear the rest of the Cardins' speech, but all too soon I hear the indication that I must stand and speak.  
Wobbling slightly upon getting up, patting my in laws reassuringly as they resume their seats, I swallow around the lump in my throat and turn to face these people.  
Can I do this?  
Lord give me strength.

Tears are streaming down my face, but my voice manages to remain steady.  
"I can't believe we're standing here today, because I ca- I can't believe he's gone.  
Ven is- was the love of my life.  
I met him in high school, it feels like forever ago, but it also feels like yesterday. I was lucky to love him, and I hope he felt lucky to love me  
Everyone always said w-we were the lucky ones, finding each other how we did.  
I sure feel like we were.  
Ven was smart, and funny, and so beautiful. It was like... he was like sunshine.  
He was the most wonderful person I've ever known, and I loved him more than I can truly say."  
My heart was hammering so hard I was positive these people could see it in my chest, tattooing it's mark on my skin, but I couldn't focus on that. Their faces blurred in and out of focus through my tears.  
"Ven was a constant source of goodness, and kindness, and he was so sweet. He was...he was too good." I cough a little bit, willing myself on.  
"Ven will be missed so much, not only by me and our daughter, not only by his wonderful parents or even just his closest friends, but by anyone who was graced with his presence. He was full of light, and it shone out of everything he said or did.  
I'll miss that constant source of sunshine so much. The clouds are gray now, and I can't seem to feel the warmth anymore."  
My voice begins to falter, and I wrap my fingers together, desperately twisting them.  
"Ven, I love you, and I miss you. Thank you for everything, every small moment we got to share. Thank you for being the best husband I could ever hope for, and a wonderful father to our Kairi. Thank you for being a son, a friend, a source of happiness.  
We'll always remember the beauty you made our lives into. This isn't goodbye, Ven. Not yet. Not ever."  
I stop, catching my breath.  
Until we..."  
I panic. The lump in my throat has reached horrifically large proportions. It's a miracle I'm not choking.  
Pity surges around me, and I want to scream.  
"Until we meet again, my love." I whisper, sitting back down, dazed.  
Terra's hand squeezes my arm as Claire throws herself onto my shoulder and sobs.  
It's Terra's turn for a speech, and he looks as dazed as I feel.

I allow myself the time to grieve, effectively tuning Terra and the rest of the world out for a minute as I silently cry.

 **xXxXx**

The service felt like it would never end, until suddenly all at once, it did.  
Ven's casket is lowered, and we all take a rose, slowly throwing them onto it.

I muffle a scream as they begin to cover his casket with dirt, repressing the sudden need to throw myself into the grave they've dug and rescue him.  
 _You can't bury him!_ I want to shout. He was claustrophobic, he can't be left like this!  
My eyes search the crowd wildly.  
Some people stare back at me, alarmed or scared, but I see an underlying understanding beneath it.  
I am the grieving widow, and they do not judge, but yet their pity makes me angry more than sad.

Terra holds my wrist as I begin to lurch forward, stopping me in midstep, though he looks as pained as I do.  
He mouths, 'the day is nearly done.' at me, before turning his attention back to the dirt.

I stand there silently, thinking about the next day I must bear.  
We're having one last memorial at a church, where people can sit inside and talk and cry together. Thankfully that's all for tomorrow, giving me a short reprieve through tonight. I can go home. Thankfully, I can have a few hours to myself in between the others.  
I really need to leave this place.

Making my way forward, shaking, I wrap an arm around Claire, my hand finding hers.  
People begin to head away, towards their cars, and I'm thankful they're going.

I'm aware of someone coming near us, seeing their dress shoes and suit legs approaching.

"H-hi mom." I hear someone address Claire, and I'm outraged almost instantly. Who would joke with Claire like this at her child's funeral?  
Claire's head whips up, her hand suddenly gripping mine harder, but she doesn't speak.  
Looking up, I'm ready to say something cutting to this stranger, but then I stop as I gape at this stranger, horrified.

This man looks almost exactly like Ventus, but with some obvious mistakes.  
His hair is an inky shade of black, and messier than Ven's was.  
He has a similar face, though his is sharper, more angular.  
And his eyes... they're the strangest golden color, and they're currently glinting right at me as we make eye contact.

I drop Claire's hand, immediately feeling the world fall to pieces around me.  
Who the hell is this? Why does he look like a rough draft of my late husband?

The blood has drained from my face, and the stranger is regarding me with a sharp eye.  
"Who the hell are you?!"

We speak the exact same words at the exact same time.  
He looks surprised, this not-Ven.  
"I'm Vanitas. I'm Ven's brother." He says haughtily, eyeing me with distaste.

The words are so absurd that I want to laugh out loud, even though it isn't funny, but I can't make a sound, or move a muscle.  
I'm frozen here, staring at this stranger who claims he shares a family tree with my beloved.

Ven didn't have a brother. He couldn't have. I'd have known.  
We didn't keep secrets, and having a brother seemed like a rather large fact to casually not tell.

How could I not know about this?  
My ears are ringing, the man- Vanitas- still staring at me, but he doesn't seem angry anymore.  
He looks almost alarmed, and I feel the urge to laugh again.

The ground rushes up to meet me as I collapse, shocked.  
Before I completely lose consciousness I'm aware of this stranger shouting wordlessly in surprise, and Claire's voice yelling, "Aqua!"  
The stranger's weird, bright gold eyes are the last thing I see before it all goes black.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
As I said in my last note, I've never written these BBS kids before, so this is interesting.  
Writing Vanitas is fun for me, since I get to use the word fuck as excessively as I please.  
Tbh I just imagine Van's inner monologue being a stream of curse words because like... same.

Anyway! Chapter two! Some more sadness, and a funeral.  
Writing this was a bit strange for me, as I've never been to a funeral (when the death in my family happened last year, we never had a service. None of us could handle it.) so. that's that.  
Also, eventually you may get to hear Terra's speech, we'll see.

Also, I expect the next chapter to be much longer and take a while longer to write, as potentially I'd like to see Vanitas's backstory flourish a tad bit. There's a lot to unpack there, if I play my cards right.

If anyone's reading this and actually reading this note, thank you! Have some love and internet hugs.  
See you soon!


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